Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Putting loo lid down when flushing

54 replies

AllIeveknewonlyou · 03/04/2023 18:12

I heard this a few years ago, that you should put lid down when flushing to escape spray.

Is this a load of cobblers? Do you do this?

I am still slightly annoyed at having to battle the toilet yesterday with a loo brush (the final resort) as it hadn't been cleaned so my mind is on loo related matters!

OP posts:
CornedBeef451 · 03/04/2023 19:35

We always put the lid down but it's because of the cats, little buggers love the loo.

All our toothbrushes are kept in a cupboard since I watched an episode of How Clean is Your House where they talked about the poo droplets floating about.

PopGoesTheProsecco · 03/04/2023 19:39

CornedBeef451 · 03/04/2023 19:35

We always put the lid down but it's because of the cats, little buggers love the loo.

All our toothbrushes are kept in a cupboard since I watched an episode of How Clean is Your House where they talked about the poo droplets floating about.

What is it with cats and the loo. I’m a lid down lover but the kids don’t care so leave it up.

The cat has a water fountain thingy (which I regularly clean out and change the filter for) but still tries to drink from the loo - weird!

Redebs · 03/04/2023 19:41

Babdoc · 03/04/2023 18:34

I vaguely remember my old professor of microbiology, back in my medical school days, saying that if you close the lid, the aerosol spray of faecal bacteria actually spreads further, contaminating more of your bathroom, as it comes out under pressure through the small gap between lid and seat. No idea if he was right, but I notice my teaching hospital had no lids on the loos!

Yes, I've heard that too.

Just make sure you have covers on any toothbrushes if there's a loo in your bathroom.

Disneyblueeyes · 03/04/2023 19:42

I have literally never known anyone put covers on toothbrushes or hide them away.

Netcam · 03/04/2023 19:47

We all keep our toothbrushes in our own bedrooms. But I don't think anyone regularly flushes with the lid down and we're all still alive.

Beachhutnut · 03/04/2023 19:48

I put the lid down and have covers on toothbrush as bathroom is tiny

emmathedilemma · 03/04/2023 19:51

the only time I put the lid down is when I put bleach round the loo and I’m still alive! That said, my toothbrush lives in the cupboard above the sink so maybe that’s my life saver.

LauraNicolaides · 03/04/2023 19:52

I never used to put the lid down, but I died of bubonic bog plague about six months ago.

ScottBakula · 03/04/2023 19:54

ShagratandGorbag4ever · 03/04/2023 18:47

It's to sit on while clipping your toenails!

Show quote history

And put your foot on while shaving your legs 😀

I leave mine up because it has a crappy hinge so the lid and seat move together and have to be prised apart .
I can't get the dam seat off the loo and no amount of oil will lubricant it enough to move freely

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 03/04/2023 19:55

Lid down. Don't want poo aerosoled (new word!) all those saying you haven't died, no, but poo sprayed over everything? I remember some TV prog where they tested make-up brushes that had need left on a shelf above a loo. Yeuch! Also it's bad Feng Shui to leave the lid up -- can't remember why. But best not to tempt fate ;)

Ffsmakeitstop · 03/04/2023 19:56

We never put ours down. If I went to the loo at night and sat on a cold lid in the dark I'd have a heart attack.

sanityisamyth · 03/04/2023 19:59

Team lid down. It's revolting to leave it up.

thegrain · 03/04/2023 20:00

Always keep toothbrush in cupboard

ScottBakula · 03/04/2023 20:00

LauraNicolaides · 03/04/2023 19:52

I never used to put the lid down, but I died of bubonic bog plague about six months ago.

You type very well for a dead person 😂🚽

Moonshine5 · 03/04/2023 20:02

Probably highly unreasonable of me - but cannot bear thought of touching any part of a toilet unless I absolutely have to
(obviously have to flush)

cariadlet · 03/04/2023 20:09

I hate the toilet seat being left up but don't like to see the lid down.

It always makes me think of the times that I have been about to use a public toilet only to find that a previous user has put the lid down to hide their unflushable shit.

The memory is almost visceral.

bigbluebus · 03/04/2023 20:09

When I was growing up, 5 of us lived in a house with one toilet. I never saw the lid down. I've never put the lid down to flush in the 34 years since I left home either and neither do the other members of my family. My toothbrush is not next to my toilet but neither does it have a cover on it. We're all still here and very rarely ill.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 03/04/2023 20:11
  1. I recall someone on telly saying you should always put the lid down before flushing to avoid the 'Fecal Plume' swarming about your bathroom contaminating your toothbrush...
(Fecal Plume sounds like a heavy metal band to me!)
  1. In Feng Shui (or is it Majong?) apparently you should keep toilets closed to avoid energy 'flowing' away...
DappledThings · 03/04/2023 20:15

I hate coming across a toilet with the lid down. Makes me fear what's being hidden in there that wasn't flushed away.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 03/04/2023 20:32

I'm glad I have a separate bathroom and toilet

TitInATrance · 03/04/2023 20:39

My downstairs loo sprays about if you flush with the lid up (and to a lesser extent with the lid down, through the gap). I second the comment about standing in front of it with bare legs!

Upstairs loo is more modern and a different shape, and doesn’t spray nearly as much. Any spray there is visible on the floor tiles.

MobilityCat · 03/04/2023 20:48

So when you lift up the lid, with all the droplets clinging to it and you sit down and lean back you coat your clothes with it.

NurseCranesRolodex · 03/04/2023 20:53

She333 · 03/04/2023 18:28

Try standing in front of it with bare legs as you flush. That's enough proof for me!

Exactly!!
Keep the lid open if you want particles of urine and excrement coating your toothbrushes. Or be sensible and never have a toothbrush or face cloth stored openly. In a bag or a drawer.

Disneyblueeyes · 03/04/2023 21:02

MobilityCat · 03/04/2023 20:48

So when you lift up the lid, with all the droplets clinging to it and you sit down and lean back you coat your clothes with it.

Well no, because obviously the typical mumsnet poster thoroughly cleans and bleaches the toilet after every use, then strips a layer or two of skin off their hands to make sure they're not contaminated after doing so.

AintNobodyHateMeBetter · 03/04/2023 21:13

I once saw an experiment which showed that toilet droplets/bacteria from the flush went as far as 7ft from the pan. The whole purpose of the lid is to prevent this.

So yes I try to put the lid down with every flush.

Swipe left for the next trending thread